What this means
Researchers gave the drug to fruit flies and mice and watched how they lived and moved. This study cannot show the drug has the same effects in people.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- Fruit flies and mice
- Kind of research
- Research in animals or cells
The science
- Original title
- Effects of Finasteride exposure on lifespan and locomotor phenotypes.
- Authors
- Long K, Mo K, Xu K et al.
- Journal
- Biogerontology
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Study type
- Lab or animal study · indexed as animal research
- PMID
- 42891761 ↗
Abstract
Finasteride is one of the core medications for treating androgen-associated diseases in men. It exhibits multiple therapeutic functions, including inhibiting 5α-reductase, reducing dihydrotestosterone levels, and improving conditions, including prostate enlargement and hair loss. Using Drosophila as the primary model and a mouse behavioral assay as a complementary approach, we combined developmental and behavioral assessments, morphological analyses of motor and sensory neurons, transcriptomics, and genetic methods to investigate developmental, neuronal, and behavioral changes associated with Finasteride exposure and explore their potential molecular basis. Our results indicate that Finasteride exposure is associated with increased intestinal reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and shortened lifespan in both sexes, together with significantly reduced starvation resistance in males. In addition, Finasteride exposure was also associated with altered neuromuscular junction (NMJ) morphology, reduced locomotor performance, and decreased cask expression. Motor-neuron CASK overexpression improved NMJ morphology and locomotor performance in Finasteride-exposed flies. Overall, this study reveals changes in lifespan and locomotor phenotypes associated with Finasteride exposure and further highlights the importance of investigating its broader biological effects in other experimental systems.
Long K, Mo K, Xu K et al. Effects of Finasteride exposure on lifespan and locomotor phenotypes. Biogerontology. 2026. doi:10.1007/s10522-026-10529-7. PMID: 42891761. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42891761/
See all research on Finasteride →